Wednesday, February 18, 2015

DC's May previews reviewed

There's little that's actually new in DC's solicitations for comics they plan to publish in May of 2015, as this is the second month of their line-wide Convergence event, meaning they plan to release the second half of the weekly Convergence series, and the second and final issue of all their Convergence tie-in miniseries. You'll notice that while the pricetags are still higher than usual for DC--$3.99, rather than their more standard $2.99--they've also apparently upped the page counts on these, as each is listed as being 40-pages rather than 32 (that's counting ads, by the way). Each ends with the same sentence: "This exra-sized issue includes a sneak peek at what's coming up in the DC Universe!"

I have no idea what form that will take: Previews of new titles related to the titles they're appearing in, original comics content, some sort of advertorial content, but I certainly hope it is different in every book, because I can't imagine too many readers will be happy paying extra (well, more than they're usually asked by DC anyway) just to see the same advertorial content, like, two-to-40 times, you know?

I think these solicitations make it even clearer that the Convergence tie-ins, while revisiting long-lost (in some cases, very long lost) characters, it won't be a simple jaunt down memory lane, as those characters will be fighting characters from various Elseworlds series (it's kind of too bad that DC lost all of their licensed characters save He-Man and some movie stuff, as it would be much more exciting to see He-Man, Django, The Spirit and Doc Savage invading various DC time-lines than, say, lame old WildStorm characters, and whatever version of the Extremists--not The Extremist, but The Extremists--they're going to be using using). And, in fact, those characters seem to dominate some of these solicitations.

Next month's solicitations, for the comics DC plans to ship in June will be the really exciting ones, as those will feature the official end of the "New 52" (as branding initiative, if not continuity/cosmological status quo) and the addition of I think somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 new titles, many of which seem very promising and seem to call on new and exciting creators who weren't making DC Comics in early 2011, and, therefore, providing a very sharp contrast to the initial New 52 offerings, which were essentially just the same old DC Comics by the same old DC creators, only with a rebooted continuity and everyone wearing terrible new costumes.

Becky Cloonan's Zero Hour-era Aquaman still looks off-model, but he also still looks pretty cool. Too bad she's only drawing the covers for Convergence: Aquaman, although I do like the artwork of interior artist Cliff Richards just fine.

CONVERGENCE: BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #2
Written by LARRY HAMA
Art by PHILIP TAN and JASON PAZ
Cover by PHILIP TAN
Variant cover designed by CHIP KIDD
On sale MAY 13 • 40 pg, FC, 2 of 2, $3.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details.
STARRING HEROES FROM ZERO HOUR! Batman and Azrael team up against the original Wetworks lineup from the WildStorm Universe! Armor up!
This extra-sized issue includes a sneak peek at what’s coming up in the DC Universe!

What's this? The original Wetworks lineip from the WildStorm Universe? I bet that's really going to excite fans of Wetworks! Um, are there fans of Wetworks? Anyone who was reading WildStorm comics in the '90s who didn't grow out of their interest in WildStorm comics?

I suppose it's not unfair to judge, as random WildStorm characters showing up in these things aren't really any weirder than random characters from the so-called Tangent Universe or the pages of Kamandi really, but DC readers really seem to have rejected any and all attempts to sell them comics starring WildStorm characters over the years, with each WildStorm-related New 52 series being almost instantly canceled, as if the DC Universe were a body rejecting the publisher's attempts to transplant the WildStorm characters into it.

I rather like this cover of Kingdom Come Batman (left) menacing Zero Hour-era Catwoman (left), created by a Claire Wendling. I still think it would have been neat if they got Jim Balent to draw the covers (at least) for this series, but that's a really nice cover.

Looks like his fellow Syndicators made fun of Owlman's costume one time too many.

CONVERGENCE: GREEN ARROW #2
Written by CHRISTY MARX
Art by RAGS MORALES and CLAUDE ST-AUBIN
Cover by RAGS MORALES
Variant cover designed by CHIP KIDD
On sale MAY 13 • 40 pg, FC, 2 of 2, $3.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details.
STARRING HEROES FROM ZERO HOUR! It’s a family feud! The first-ever meeting between Oliver Queen and Connor Hawke gets complicated when they are attacked by Kingdom Come’s Dinah Lance and Olivia Queen!
This extra-sized issue includes a sneak peek at what’s coming up in the DC Universe!

I completely forgot how much I liked the Kingdom Come design for Black Canary. Man, that comic had so many good character designs, including maybe my favorite ever costumes/redesigns for Hourman, Doctor Fate, Dr. Mid-Nite and Red Tornado. Given how good Alex Ross designs were on that series (and elsewhere), given how popular and enduring so many of his costume designs proved to be and given the seemingly rather warm relationship between he and DC for a very long time, I was really rather surprised they didn't commission Ross to redesign the bulk of their characters when they did so for the New 52, instead of having Lee, a guy who has never designed any costume anyone has ever liked, do it himself.

CONVERGENCE: HARLEY QUINN #2
Written by STEVE PUGH
Art by PHIL WINSLADE and JOHN DELL
Cover by STEVE PUGH
Variant cover designed by CHIP KIDD
On sale MAY 6 • 40 pg, FC, 2 of 2, $3.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.
STARRING HEROES FROM THE PRE-FLASHPOINT DCU! Harley Quinn, Catwoman and Poison Ivy fight Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew – to the death!
This extra-sized issue includes a sneak peek at what’s coming up in the DC Universe!

Wait, Harley Quinn, Catwoman and Poison Ivy? So this should really be called Convergence: Gotham Sirens, shouldn't it? Why are they calling it Convergence: Harley Quinn...? Oh right, for sales. Duh.

The description of the conflict in this solicitation—"Harley Quinn, Catwoman and Poison Ivy fight Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew – to the death!"—is maybe the only truly exciting one in this batch of solicitations. That said, I don't think the Gothamites stand a chance, do they? They'll be vastly out-numbered and only one of them has any super-powers at all—and those have something to do with seducing men (human men), and or maybe something to do with plants, depending on the writer.

CONVERGENCE: JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #2
Written by RON MARZ
Art by MIKE MANLEY
Cover by PAUL RENAUD
Variant cover designed by CHIP KIDD
On sale MAY 13 • 40 pg, FC, 2 of 2, $3.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details.
STARRING HEROES FROM ZERO HOUR! Is it time to say goodbye to Ted Kord and Martian Manhunter forever? It is if the heroes of the Kingdom Come universe have anything to say about it!
This extra-sized issue includes a sneak peek at what’s coming up in the DC Universe!

Jade! I totally forgot about the very existence of Kingdom Come Jade. Man, rather than getting me super-excited about DC's May releases, these solicitations are really making me want to re-read Kingdom Come...

Huh. I wouldn't have that Gar would be strong enough to hold Cyborg like that.

Aw, this Jill Thompson cover for Convergence: Nightwing/Oracle is as adorable as their tux and dress are dumb looking. Thompson, like Becky Cloonan, should draw more superheroes for DC. Preferably interiors.

CONVERGENCE: SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #2
Written by STUART MOORE
Art by PETER GROSS and MARK FARMER
Cover by PIA GUERRA
Variant cover designed by CHIP KIDD
On sale MAY 20 • 40 pg, FC, 2 of 2, $3.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.
STARRING HEROES FROM CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS! Brainiac 5 and Superboy are from one of the most advanced worlds under the Convergence dome, but nothing can prepare them for the all-out war they now find themselves in against the Atomic Knights!
This extra-sized issue includes a sneak peek at what’s coming up in the DC Universe! I can't think of any group of DC Comics characters I'm less interested in than the Legion of Super-Heroes (Well, other than Wetworks or WildCATS, I guess), but that is a lovely piece of art by Pia Guerra, and I've always loved the weird visual of those knights on giant dalmatians, particularly when there are no other characters around to provide scale, so one doesn't know if they are tiny knights on regular-sized dogs, or regular-sized knights on giant dogs.

CONVERGENCE: SWAMP THING #2
Written by LEN WEIN
Art and cover by KELLEY JONES
Variant cover designed by CHIP KIDD
On sale MAY 20 • 40 pg, FC, 2 of 2, $3.99 US • RATED T+
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details.
STARRING HEROES FROM CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS! Swamp Thing finds his connection to the Green renewed…but is it enough to help him survive the onslaught of the Red Rain vampire Batman?
This extra-sized issue includes a sneak peek at what’s coming up in the DC Universe!

This is probably the convergence title with the most perfect creative team on it. Swamp Thing co-creator (and first Swamp Thing writer) Len Wein, paired with artist Kelley Jones, who was once quite and obviously influenced by the work of Swamp Thing co-creator Bernie Wrightson, and has since gone on to draw a hell of a Swamp Thing (during his Batman run) and to be the artist who designed and drew all the vampire Batman comics.

CONVERGENCE: THE QUESTION #2
Written by GREG RUCKA
Art and cover by CULLY HAMNER
Variant cover designed by CHIP KIDD
On sale MAY 6 • 40 pg, FC, 2 of 2, $3.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details.
STARRING HEROES FROM THE PRE-FLASHPOINT DCU! Renee Montoya’s final stand as The Question comes to a head as she helps Two-Face battle Flashpoint’s Harvey Dent…but will her world live on?
This extra-sized issue includes a sneak peek at what’s coming up in the DC Universe!

Interesting. Writer Greg Rucka seems to be taking the opportunity this series offers to write all of his favorite DC characters. I have no memory at all of Flashpoint's Harvey Dent (I guess he had a beard?), but that may be because the identities of Flashpoint Batman and Joker were so unusual that any other characters who appeared receded from my memory in the years since.

INFINITE CRISIS: FIGHT FOR THE MULTIVERSE #11
Written by DAN ABNETT
Art by ANGEL HERNANDEZ and EDUARDO FRANCISCO
Cover by MICO SUAYAN
On sale MAY 20 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T • DIGITAL FIRST
Batman and his team battle Nightmare Batman. Later, the Monitor arrives on the Gaslight world to investigate the Earth Engine. But in doing so, he accidentally unleashes a wave of madness that claims him too. And a mystery villain is revealed.

This is the comic book series I've never read, which is based on a video game that I've never played. I'm sure I'll read the trades of it some day. I thought it worth noting this week if only because of how much its solicitation reads like so many of those for the Convergence minis.

LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT: NORM BREYFOGLE HC
Written by JOHN WAGNER, ALAN GRANT and others
Art by NORM BREYFOGLE and others
Cover by NORM BREYFOGLE
On sale JULY 1 • 520 pg, FC, $49.99 US
In these tales from BATMAN ANNUAL #11-12 and DETECTIVE COMICS #579, 582-594 and 601-607, all featuring the art of Norm Breyfogle, the Dark Knight faces the evil of the Ventriloquist and Scarface, the Crime Doctor, the Demon, a horde of Clayfaces and more!

I can't wait for this, despite the fact that I have an awful lot of these in single issues already. Breyfogle is, as I've said over and over, one of my favorite comics artists, and is one of the most important comics artists to me personally, as he was one of the handful of artists who got me interested in the medium in the first place.

He's tied with Kelley Jones for my favorite Batman artist, but I don't think there's any question that he's the best Batman artist. At least in my estimation; certainly we can argue about it, and I do plan on writing something big and long about why I think so in the near future (maybe when I get my hands on this book). But I'm pretty sure he's the best Batman artist who drew Batman for as long as he did.

A rather quick consultation of comics.org reveals the stories and characters attached to the 20+ comics collected in this. They include "The Mudpack" story arc teaming all of the Clayfaces up against Batman, a three-part team-up with Jason Blood and Etrigan, The Demon which climaxes in an amazing Batman vs. Etrigan battle, story arcs introducing the relatively minor but still "name" villains The Corrosive Man, The Ratcatcher abd Cornelius Stirk. Robin Jason Todd appears in a few of these. They're all from 1987-1989, and represent the very earliest of Breyfogle's work on Batman, so I'm assuming there's at least another two volumes worth of Breyfogle-drawing-Batman collections to be published, even if they don't bother with prestige format books (Batman: The Abduction and Batman: Dreamland), Elseworlds (Batman: Holy Teror) or original graphic novels (Birth of The Demon), or tangentially-related Batman stories (like the Anarky mini-series and short-lived ongoing series).

It doesn't take into account the rest of his run on TEC (13 more issues, featuring the introductions of Anarky and The Obeah Man, and Grant and Breyfogle's takes on The Joker, Penguin, Catwoman and Catman), nor his run on Batman (24 issues, featuring The Scarecrow, Maxie Zeus, more Catwoman, Gordon's heart attack, one of the better Killer Croc stories and Tim Drake's debut as the third Robin), nor his work on Shadow of The Bat (five issues), the first arc of which introduced Jeremiah Arkham and Mr. Zsasz.

The bulk of the stories in the collection are written by Alan Grant, some which in conjunction with John Wagner, while the "and others" mentioned in the solicitation would be Jo Duffy and Robert Greenberger.

SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP #10
Written by SHOLLY FISCH
Art and cover by DARIO BRIZUELA
On sale MAY 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E
A cursed gem? A living mummy? They’re just the things to bring Scooby and the gang on the run – and pique the curiosity of Dr. Benton Quest. But when the “mummy” kidnaps Dr. Quest, the gang will have to team up with Quest’s son Jonny and his friends Race, Hadji, and Bandit to rescue the famed scientist!

I was literally just thinking about this series (again). Like the past two issues that were published (featuring The Flintsones and The Jetsons), this team-up sounds pretty unexpected, but I'm curious to see how Scooby and Bandit get along. Also, I guess I'm kind of curious about what a post-Venture Brothers Johnny Quest story might read like...

Michael Zulli is a great "get" for a Sensation Comics cover, and I love his Wonder Woman; in addition to looking real in a way Zulli's characters so often do, she looks completely distinct from, like, every other Wonder Woman I've ever seen. I do wonder how closely it reflects the insides of the book. This is a problem with modern comics in general, and these anthology series with rotating creative teams in particular, but somewhere along the line mainstream comics companies seem to have forgotten how to sell comics based on their covers.

5 comments:

I have been reading Infinite Crisis Fight for the Multiverse (digitally) and ... it's okay. I like Dan Abnett and I'm a big fan of multiverse stories. If you aren't a fan of those two things you may not enjoy it as much because it is a video-game tie-in full of Elseworlds characters. Being published at the same time as Multiversity is probably not helping it - I'd probably enjoy it more if Morrison's take on the multiverse setting wasn't right there and so good.

And Scooby-doo meets Johnny Quest is so dang brilliant that I don't know why it hasn't been done before. Scooby-doo team-up has consistently been one of my favorite ongoing DC books I'm reading. First collection is due out in March!

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